The invention relates to a control unit for manually controlling at least four reversible electromechanical adjusting means used for adjusting the position of at least three motor vehicle rear view mirrors, comprising: a switch arrangement means moved by a single lever means for positioning a first selecting switch movable contact bridge means which rests against a first fixed contact in one of three switching positions and against a second fixed contact in another of said switching positions, and for also positioning three key switch means wherein at least a first and a second of these key switch means are change-over key switch means having one moveable contact bridge each which can be switched to a first or to a second fixed contact depending on the direction of movement of the lever; the moveable contact bridge of the first change-over key switch means being electrically and permanently connected to the moveable contact bridge of the selecting switch means and moved jointly with at least one other moveable contact bridges of one of the other two switch means; said third change-over key switch means also having a moveable contact bridge and a first fixed contact, and a common connecting terminal which is electrically and permanently connected to each of the fixed contacts of each of three key switch means. Four further connecting terminal means are electrically and permanently connected with the first terminal being connected to the first fixed contact of the selecting switch means, the second terminal connected to the second fixed contact of the selecting switch means, the third terminal connected to the moveable contact bridge means of the second key switch means and the fourth terminal connected to the moveable contact bridge means of the third key switch means.
A control unit is known (FIG. 1) which is used for selecting one of two remotely controlled adjustable rear view mirrors and for manually controlling two reversible electrical adjusting devices provided in each mirror by means of a lever handle in the manner of a short joy stick. The mirror is selected by rotating the lever handle from a stable neutral position into a right-hand or a left-hand switching position corresponding to the position of the outside rear view mirror to be selected.
The adjusting devices are manually controlled by tilting the lever handle from a stable central position towards the front or the rear against a centering restoring force to pivot the mirror around its horizontal axis, or to the right or left to pivot the mirror around its vertical axis.
Such control switch units are already known for adjusting a single outside rear view mirror on the passenger side.
Finally, a mirror adjusting switch with selecting possibility for two different rear view mirrors is also known from EP-A 0,186,192, in which, however, the mirror selection and the manual control of the adjusting devices are effected by means of two mechanically independent handles.
Such mirror adjusting switches are generally installed in the center consoles of passenger cars and must take up valuable space there.
It is already known to store both seat and rear view mirror positions with a memory circuit so that they can be called up by pressing a button. This also requires multiple adjustments by external force when up to three rear view mirrors, two arranged on the outside and one on the inside, are involved such as for example in station wagons.
The invention is based on the object of developing a control unit of the single joy stick type in such a manner that the manual control of the two adjusting devices in each of three rear view mirrors is made possible with the most compact form possible and the least possible number of electrical connections and with a compact arrangement to be housed in a confined space. According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of the moveable contact bridge means of the selecting switch means of the switch arrangement means, in its third switching position electrically connecting the first and second fixed contact of the selecting switch, while all of the fixed contacts of the key switches are connected to a common ground connection and wherein the four further connecting terminal means are connected to a spatially remotely arranged decoding and control circuit via a multi-core line for transmitting a four-digit binary code with the symbols "no potential" and "potential of the common connecting terminal" to said decoding and control circuit. Each adjusting means is addressed in a required adjusting direction by two digits of the binarY code from said decoding and control circuit, wherein the first two connecting terminal means, connected to the two fixed contacts of the selecting switch means, determine which of the three rear view mirrors are to be adjusted while the third and fourth connecting terminal means, connected to the contact bridges of the second and third key switch means, determines which directions the mirrors are to be adjusted by said adjusting means and wherein the decoding and control circuit operates the adjusting means via control lines in accordance with the binary code caused by the lever handle actuating the three key switch means.
By dividing the control unit into a switch arrangement for the center console and a decoding and control circuit which is installed at a remote position from the switch arrangement and which is electrically connected to the switch arrangement by means of a multi-core control line, which transmits at least a four-digit binary code which addresses: the individual mirrors, the respective adjusting device, and their required adjusting direction, the constructional size of the control unit can be retained unchanged compared with the known control unit and the number of connecting terminals needed for the manual control of the adjusting devices at the switch arrangement can even be limited to five.
The invention also contemplates that the decoding and control circuit of the control unit for selectively adjusting the position of each of three mirrors by use of a single joy stick also has connected with it the well known memory control system for preselection of a previously determined mirror adjustment.
Also an indicator and indicator light (for night time usage) is provided to indicate which of the three mirrors to be adjusted is being addressed.
Still further the joy stick can have a pointer shape configuration (tear-drop) wherein the position of the selected mirror to be adjusted can be felt by the human touch.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which sow, for the purposes of illustration only, one embodiment in accordance with the present invention, and wherein: